Thursday, 20 December 2012

On this site you will find the film edited from the
recent workshop, results from the surveys you completed, as well as
photographs and information about the community projects nominated at
the workshop. You will find up-to-date information about
these projects, next steps to take and help needed.

We hope that it will be a space where the whole community can communicate.

Here you will find:

Local Events Listings

A ‘Wall’ – a space where everyone can discuss projects, events and local issues and where you can post news.

Photographs and Videos, including the workshop film. You can upload photos and videos of your own

A way to contact Your Square Mile and other members of the community

Individual Project Pages with a forum to discuss them

Before you can get chatting, sharing, promoting your projects, please first register
here by clicking on ‘Join Group’ in the top right hand corner of the page.

As you start to use the site, we will get a sense
of how the community can best use it. If you think there are additional
features that could be useful, please let us know and we will look to
introduce these later.

This website is not intended to be a replacement
for any existing local web-sites or other forms of local information in
the area. Instead, we want to aggregate and promote any existing sites
and communications.

Wednesday, 12 December 2012

This evening's spontaneous carolling outside the Claremont - complete with new Nativity mural - really helped our neighbourhood get into the festive mood!

Only 13 (local) shopping days to go, and we can look forward to mince pies and more carol singing tomorrow - inside the Claremont this time - and the inauguration of the Bowes Street Christmas tree at the weekend. See you all there!

Thursday, 6 December 2012

The secret's out... our very own Bowes Street Christmas tree - generously donated by the brewery - will be in pride of place next to the Claremont by the end of the week. Watch this space for news of a festive gathering in the near future!

Sunday, 2 December 2012

Thanks to Adactus, the residents' association now have £1500 to get the ball (or wheelbarrow?) rolling, with an opportunity to bid for further funds for stage two next year.

Work should hopefully get started before Christmas with a tree for each alley, but unfortunately they won't plant themselves - volunteers are most definitely needed! Please leave a comment below if you can help out.

Thursday, 22 November 2012

The following information is from Deborah Marsden at Manchester City Council:

Manchester City Council was successful in securing Heritage Lottery Funding for the restoration of Alexandra Park and during the last 12 months we have worked to appoint the contractors and a Design Team.

The work will start on site early in 2013, however, before this happens we need to:

Open up the historic buildings to check their condition

Survey the culvert which runs under the southern oval (near the pavilion)

Carry out some controlled tree felling

What impact will this have?

Opening up the buildings will not have a major impact on the park, you may have noticed some architects and engineers entering the buildings already.

The culvert needs to be exposed in some areas, this will mean there will be areas of the southern oval fenced off while work takes place. The oval will be returned to normal once the survey is completed.

The tree works are planned to ensure that all the work is carried out before the bird nesting season begins, and no later than the week beginning 10th December.

I would like to invite you all to an open day in the park on Saturday 1st December at the Children’s Centre in Alexandra Park from 11am until 4pm. There will be an opportunity to look over the agreed plans for the park, talk to the lead designer and walk through areas of the park to get a more detailed understanding of how the park will look oncompletion.

Sunday, 18 November 2012

Such amazing work today from our team of dedicated volunteers who've helped to transform our little corner of Moss Side.

Thanks to everyone who came along with their rubbish, swept the streets and alleyways, cut down weeds, planted bulbs and baskets and went door to door to spread the word; even bigger thanks to those who kept us fed and watered!

We all want our neighbourhood to look good and be a great place to live. Remember that any issues to do with street cleaning, fly-tipping or bins should go via Environmental Health. The number is on our A-Z page.

Thursday, 1 November 2012

Our lovely hanging baskets won a prize at the Royal Horticultural Society Awards! Paula went to the ceremony on behalf of the residents' association and wrote us the following report:

The Bowes Street Residents' Association held a hanging basket event in the summer. It was really well attended and the streets looked lovely with a burst of colour outsidethe doors. The plants and the compost were supplied to us through Manchester City Council via the Royal Horticultural Society.

Not long after our event, judges from the RHS came down our streets to see all the hard work from that day. We were entered into a competition and last Wednesday won our first award - Level 3 in the ‘Developing’ category at the Royal Horticultural Society Awards held in Southport.

The next level in the competition next year is Level 4, then Level 5, ‘Thriving’ and ‘Outstanding’ categories. After that its fancy silver cups that can be won!

Representatives of our association have also been invited to a presentation event at Manchester Town Hall on November 14th - anyone who would like to attend, please say so in the comments below!Our congratulations go also to Moss Side Community Allotment, who won in a different category.Massive thanks to everyone who has helped make the neighbourhood look really great so far; plans are under way to revitalise our hanging baskets with donated winter bulbs to give us some colour during the colder months. Watch out for our 'Community Clean-Up Day' on the 18th!

Tuesday, 30 October 2012

It's Halloween tomorrowtoday! If you've got small children and would like to join in trick-or-treating there'll be several spooky characters setting off from Cowesby Street around 7pm.

For those unfamiliar with trick-or-treat etiquette, it's considered good form to leave your porch light on (or better still - a pumpkin lantern in the front window!) if you've got treats to give out, and to leave it off if not, to save any disappointment.

Saturday, 27 October 2012

Suggestion from Beresford resident Karl: "could we have a page on the blog where all the useful phone numbers, e-mail addresses and contacts that have been mentioned in our meetings can be collected together?"

Thursday, 18 October 2012

Have your say in the first ever elections
for local police and crime commissioners.

On November 15th, a new police and
crime commissioners will be elected for our area.

What will a police
and crime commissioner do?

Our police and crime commissioner will
ensure the police focus on the crimes that matter most to us as a community, whether
it's tackling anti-social behaviour, reducing burglaries, domestic violence
or cracking down on drug dealing.

Our police and crime commissioner will
work with local partners such as social landlords, councils, health, and
drugs and alcohol organisations to not only fight crime and anti-social
behaviour but to prevent it.

By voting for our local police
and crime commissioner, we'll each have our say on the key decisions that
will impact our local area.

Thursday, 11 October 2012

Are you up for a challenge? For one night only the Booth Centre are sleeping out to
highlight some of the hardships that homeless people have to face every single night and to raise vital funds.
Last year the event was a huge success raising over £8,000 for the
charity, and with your help the 2012 Manchester Sleepout will be even
bigger and better!

This year Manchester Cathedral have kindly allowed us full use of the
building, so you have the option of sleeping out inside or outside
the Cathedral (depending on how brave you are and how bad the weather
is)! Staff will be available throughout the night to assist sleepers,
answer any questions and to talk about the work the Booth Centre
does.
For more information and to register to take part in the event go to
our website www.boothcentre.org.uk

Wednesday, 12 September 2012

There are current plans to make Lloyd Street into a priority bus corridor for routes into and out of the city centre. Although the timescale for this is pretty long, local consultation meetings are happening now so that residents can have their views taken into account.

Tuesday, 11 September 2012

The Moss Side Community Allotment will be having their Open Day this Saturday, 15th September, in conjunction with The Big Dig Edible Gardens Open Day. Hope to see lots of you there (it's at the Bowes Street end of Cowesby Street).

Monday, 10 September 2012

Below is the number for Environmental Health which you can use in the cases of fly tipping and any other disturbance - please be as specific as possible. This can be reported on-line as well - see links.

Please note that you can request up to 3 "Bulky Items" to be collected free of charge from the Council a year - link below for further information

Tuesday, 4 September 2012

Our next meeting will be on Tuesday 11th September at 6.30pm at Fallowfield Library. It would be great to have a good turnout so that we can get things moving again after the summer break so please spread the word amongst your neighbours, especially those who may not have access to the internet.

Tuesday, 10 July 2012

Our next meeting is on Wednesday 11th July, 6.30pm at Fallowfield Library. This meeting will run as a discussion forum where issues such as littering, tipping etc. can be raised with representatives of the council with the aim of developing strategies for improvement. PCSO Harris will also update us on the issue of noise nuisance.

Thursday, 5 July 2012

Please see below for details of a local opportunity from Didsbury Dinners:

Building on the success of our 4-week ‘learn to cook’ course last autumn, this year Didsbury Dinners aims to teach another 100+ people how to cook, for free! We’re recruiting a team of 12 Volunteer Community Cookery Champions to help us achieve this goal. Free training worth over £250 will be provided. We are looking for committed individuals who are passionate about food and cookery. No previous experience is necessary, but basic cookery skills are essential.

Monday, 2 July 2012

A new organisation called HealthWatch has been in touch - they are trying to get as wide a response as possible to their online survey about community health services. It sounds like a great opportunity for us to get our voices heard on some of these issues. See their press release below:

The aim of local HealthWatch will be to give citizens and communities a stronger voice to influence and challenge how health and social care services are provided within their locality. Local people should be at the centre of how services are planned, designed and delivered in health and social care across Manchester. This includes GPs, dentists, pharmacies, hospitals, mental health services, care homes, day centres, and personal care at home. By April 2013 a new organisation called ‘HealthWatch Manchester’ will be set up to support this. This will take over from the Local Involvement Network as the way people aim to shape their local health and social care services.

What will HealthWatch do?

Ask the people of Manchester for their views about the services they use

Tell people what health and social care services are available locally and how to access them

Give people help and support when making a complaint about health and social care services

Sunday, 24 June 2012

Hopefully many of you will have seen the flyers by now - come along on Saturday, plant up a basket and take it home for free, all thanks to Manchester In Bloom!

We're still looking for volunteers to bake cakes and anyone with a decent masonry drill to help with putting the finished baskets up. Leave a comment below if you'd like to help out, or if you can't make it and want a basket putting aside.

Friday, 22 June 2012

Some great images of urban greening projects, via The Guardian. Our hanging basket planting day is the first step to making the Bowes Street area just as green and pleasant! Come along for tea, cake and planting on Saturday 30th June.

Don't forget - the Olympic Flame comes to Moss Side this weekend as inspirational local residents carry it through it the city streets ahead of the 2012 Olympic Games.

Manchester City Council hopes that residents will “Line the Streets” to cheer on their torchbearers and celebrate work they have done to improve life in their neighbourhoods.

The first part of the Torch Relay Convoy will pass through 5 to 7 minutes ahead of the torchbearer part of the convoy. This will include further ‘presenting partners’ who will give out Torch Relay Keepsakes to waiting crowds. The second part of the Convoy, consisting of the torchbearer with media and security vehicles, will then pass.

Another great turnout at Tuesday's meeting, including some new faces - thanks to everyone who made it! Lots of exciting ideas were shared and plans for our first community event on Saturday 30th June are coming along nicely. Save the date and watch this space for further information about our 'Planting the Seed' day...

A team of members led by Matt are also working on a funding application for alley gardening projects. Have a look at these plans for inspiration (click first image for link to full-sized PDF version):

The proposals will be on display at McFresh and - hopefully - some of our other local businesses over the next couple of weeks so that members of our community who can't get online can get involved easily. If you have any suggestions or comments feel free to post below - we'd love to make the alleys welcoming green spaces where all members of our community can feel at home.

Thursday, 7 June 2012

Please find below the agenda for the next meeting of the Bowes Street Residents Group. Timings are approximate. Please notify the Chair of any items of any other business by commenting below before the next meeting.The meeting will be held on

Tuesday, 5 June 2012

Unlike London, the sun came out over Moss Side for our own celebration yesterday. Very many thanks to David, Emily, Esther and all the PartyForBeresford group for organising such a fantastic community event!

Looks like there will be lots going on over the jubilee weekend in our area. As well as the street party on Beresford St. on Monday afternoon, Cranswick Square Residents' Group are also running a number of events. See the details here.

The next meeting of the Bowes Street Residents' Association will be on Tuesday 12th June at 6.30pm at Fallowfield Library. It was great to see some new faces at the last meeting so please do come along and see what we can do to get the best out of the local area.

Minutes of the last meeting will follow shortly but in the meantime here are some of the things we are working on or involved in:

Monday, 14 May 2012

Thanks very much to Matt for attending the latest meeting about the 'meanwhile' project for the site of the former bus depot.
I've attached the latest plans for the temporary use of the bus depot site here, you might be interested to take a look. These are only a starting point and the project steering group are looking for input from the community. We will be discussing this further at tomorrow's meeting - come armed with some ideas!

Thursday, 3 May 2012

At the meeting we agreed to adopt a constitution based on this model and modified to the needs of our Residents' Association. Here is a draft of the proposed constitution, if you have time please have a look at it before the meeting. I've listed the main changes, most of which we discussed at the last meeting, below. If you have any concerns they can be raised at our next meeting, when we will ratify the constitution.

Removal of 'youth forum' clause.

Membership: Everyone living in the area is automatically a member but only those present at meetings may vote.

Committee: Minimum five members, maximum seven members. Election of additional members and their roles will be on the agenda for the next meeting.

We need to define the geographical boundaries of our association - I've also added this to the agenda for the next meeting.

Please share this information with anyone who might not be able to view the blog. We can arrange for hard copies for anyone that can't view the online versions easily. I'll also ask our street representatives to raise the issue of the constitution with their neighbours.

Thanks again for the great turnout at our first meeting. Since then we have been working hard to get our association off the ground. We are developing some great contacts in the community, local Councillors are very supportive of our association and will keep us informed about funding opportunities and issues which might affect our community. At our next meeting Tom Cass (Manchester City Council) and Phil Dodd (Cranswick Square Resident's Association) will come and share their experiences and expertise and provide us with some inspiration! By the time of the meeting we should also have our inital 'startup' grant from the council in our bank account and we can decide how best we can use this funding.

We are aware that we need to work hard to ensure that all members of the community have the opportunity to engage with the Residents' Association. Creating a community notice board is a priority, but in the meantime we have street representatives for Rosebery and Cowsby streets who will spread the word about the meeting to their neighbours. We are still in need of representatives from Hartington and Beresford streets - please let us know if you would like to volunteer!

From next month our Secretaries, Natalie and Adele, will take charge of the blog - thanks Ben for getting it set up. The blog is intended to spread the word about our activities but it is also a space where we can share and debate our ideas. We are bound to have some differences of opinion, however we hope that you can all find some common ground in the desire to make sure that this is a great place to live.

The next meeting is Tuesday 15th May, please send any items for the agenda as comments on the blog or email me at laycock.jo@gmail.com. I'll circulate the agenda on the blog and via our representatives next week.

Tuesday, 24 April 2012

I've been in touch with City South, Mosscare and Adactus and asked them to put us in touch with other established residents groups in the area. I have a really good response.

Andrew from Adactus is passing my details onto the Chairs of Residents Associations supported by Adactus and he mentioned the TARA meeting that is coming up soon and which Adele has agreed to attend.

Teyei from Mosscare has been in touch and they have expressed their support of our group and how keen they are to support us. She provided me with a funding form to apply for up to £200.00 towards our Jubilee celebration event. She also said that the closest group to us is the Moss Side Residents Association who are meeting on 9 May 2012 at St James' Church and would be happy for us to attend. Unfortunately I am on holiday then so would anyone else be able to attend and introduce our group?

My neighbour who has only just moved in is keen to join the group so I'll have a chat with him and add him to the blog list (if I can work out how to do that)

I couldn't attach the Jubilee funding form to the Jubilee post anyone know how I attach a file?

Thursday, 19 April 2012

The second thing I've been asked to circulate via the blog is the following from Esther on Beresford Street about the Jubilee Street Party, just in case you missed it when it came through the door:

Hello, my name is Esther Webb.This is a quick note to let you know that some of your neighbours are organising a Street Party for Beresford Street on Monday 4th June to celebrate the Jubilee and get to know each other a bit better.We are still in the early stages of planning but wanted to let you know what our thoughts are and give you the opportunity to get involved. We are applying for street closure on the day so we can utilise the space well and make sure it is a safe place for children and families. The food and activities are still to be discussed but we are sure that it will be a very exciting day.If you would like to be involved in the planning of the party or have any questions please do not hesitate to contact us. Our details are as follows:Email: Party4Beresford2012@hotmail.co.ukFacebook: Beresford Street PartyThank you very much,Esther

Tuesday, 17 April 2012

Thanks so much to the nearly 30 people who turned out to the inaugural meeting. I can now officially announce, hot off the presses, the freshly-minted and fully operational... (drum roll)... Bowes Street Residents' Association!

Thanks especially are due to Karl for arranging such a convenient venue, to Natalie for minuting furiously and reminding me what I should have been talking about, to Andy for triumphing over technology, to Jo and Leah for drafting the agenda and to everyone who contributed such great ideas.

The full minutes of the meeting will be circulated soon, but in the meantime here's a brief summary:

We voted to adopt a constitution and formally became a Residents' Association.

We elected Jo Laycock as Chair, Adele (sorry - don't know your surname) as Secretary and John Haines as Treasurer. In addition, Natalie Lewis agreed to assist with secretarial duties.

We discussed lots of great ideas about how improve our community - gardening/yardening, a community noticeboard, a Jubilee street party, communal bike storage, a local history project, engaging with local businesses and far more besides.

Our PCSO, Lee Harris, introduced himself and spoke about what support he could offer (e-mail him).

We agreed on a date for the next meeting (Tuesday 15th May) and discussed ways of communicating the agenda with the wider community.

Further details on all of this are to follow, and not necessarily from me - I'll be discussing handing over this blog to our newly-elected officers!

Friday, 13 April 2012

The (final) proposed agenda for the meeting on Tuesday is below - thanks to Jo L, Leah and everyone else who contributed comments and suggestions. Sorry if this seems a little late, I think once things are up and running it will be easier to organise this kind of thing in advance.

We've tried not to overload the agenda and have incorporated some time for discussion about the general aims of the group. Its also quite broad (for example item 4 could incorporate several different ideas that people have raised).

Based on how this meeting goes we can tweak the format for the future.

Saturday, 7 April 2012

In order to formally be recognised as a residents' association, we need to adopt a constitution which sets out our aims and objectives, along with rules by which we agree to operate. As far as I can tell, it needn't be particularly complicated, but there are certain things it needs to include.

Everyone at the meeting will be asked to vote on whether they agree with the proposed constitution, so it's worth doing a little reading beforehand if you can, so we all know what we're voting for and have the chance to suggest any changes in advance.

Thursday, 5 April 2012

Because the Residents' Association isn't formally constituted yet (that's what we're hoping to do at the meeting on the 17th), we didn't want to set the agenda without giving others a chance to contribute their ideas. Broadly speaking though, we think the initial meeting should be short, sweet and very positive, focusing on the good things we can do to bring our community together more. Here's what we've come up with so far:

Adopting a formal constitution to create a residents' association - nothing else can happen without this bit of red tape.

Election of 'official' roles (Chair, Vice-Chair, Secretary and Treasurer are essential, but we may want others too)

Communications: how to get our messages heard across the community.

Money: a grant of £1000 is available for community organisations in our area - what could we do with it?

Gardening in the alleys and use of growing space on the bus depot site.

Other business suggested before the meeting.

What do you think? Post a comment if you'd like to contribute anything else to the meeting.